Dried oregano is one of my pantry staples. Not the kind you find in small glass jars in the supermarket, but rather the long branches of dried Greek or Italian one often in delis and Mediterranean grocers.

I keep mine in a tall jar and just crumble off the dried leaves from the branches as I need it. It’s fragrant, heady and packs so much flavour.

Here it joins fresh oregano and plenty of lemon to make a gorgeous roast chicken with potatoes, served with a herby grilled zucchini salad.

With pita served on the side it is the perfect way to welcome the warmer weather. You can swap a whole chicken for marylands, if you prefer.

Lemon Oregano Chicken + Grilled Zucchini Salad

(Serves 4) 

1.4 kg whole chicken, butterflied
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
2 cloves garlic, finely grated
1 tbsp dried oregano
4 potatoes, peeled and sliced into .5 cm thick rounds

Zucchini and herb salad

4 Zucchini (approximately 750g), halved lengthways
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp dried oregano
3 sprigs fresh oregano, leaves picked
Handful of dill fronds, roughly torn
Handful of mint leaves, roughly torn
125g Greek feta, crumbled
Salt and pepper, to taste

Pita, to serve

Method:

In a large bowl or container, place the chicken, olive oil, lemon, garlic and oregano. Season well with salt and massage into the chicken. Cover and allow to marinate in the fridge for 2 hours or ideally overnight.

Preheat the oven to 190C. Arrange the potatoes on the bottom of a roasting dish or tray and place the chicken, skin side up onto the potatoes. Drizzle everything with a little more olive oil, season the potatoes with salt and roast in the preheated oven for 50-55 minutes or until the chicken is cooked and the potatoes are golden. Remove the chicken from the tray to rest and if you want more colour on the potatoes, continue cooking the potatoes for a further 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the zucchini salad by coating the zucchini in 1 tbsp of the oil and grilling them until tender and nicely coloured. Cut the zucchini into 4cm pieces. Place the remaining oil and vinegar in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Add the zucchini and remaining ingredients and season to taste.

Cut the chicken into 8 pieces and serve with the roast potatoes, zucchini salad and pita.

What else I’m cooking: Zucchini flowers are so incredible right now and have recently been stuffing them with a mixture of rice, herbs, currants and pine nuts and cooking them in the oven with a fresh tomato sauce. So delicious.

What else I’m eating: The vanilla and saffron buns from Bread Club. Warmed up at home, heaven!!